In Uttar Pradesh, arrest and search 'without a warrant' under this new special forces rule

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday said a special force will be constituted on the basis of orders of the Allahabad High Court, which had expressed its displeasure over the security at civil courts last December. Briefing reporters in Lucknow, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said, “The state government has given orders for the constitution of a special security force. A roadmap in this regard has been sought from the UP DGP.” “This is a dream project of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister. The basis of this force is an order of the High Court, which had ordered that there should be a specialised force for civil courts. In all, there will be 9,919 personnel in the force,” he added. Awasthi said five battalions will be constituted in the first phase and it will be headed by an ADG-ranked officer. “Expenses incurred in the first phase will be around Rs 1,747 crore,” Awasthi said. Later in a statement, he said the force will provide security to the high court, district courts, administrative offices, and buildings, Metro rail, airports, banks, financial institutions, educational institutions, and industrial units. This force will have the power to search without any warrant. Members of this force can arrest any person without the orders of a magistrate or a warrant, the statement said. On 18 December 2019, the Allahabad High Court had pulled up the Uttar Pradesh government over a shootout at a Bijnor courtroom. Three assailants had on December 17, 2019, opened fire in the court of the Bijnor chief judicial magistrate, killing a murder accused and injuring three others – two policemen and a court employee. The Muzaffarnagar court had witnessed a similar incident in 2015, when an armed man entered the courtroom masquerading as a lawyer and shot dead Vicky Tyagi, an alleged gangster. Chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh Bar Council, Darvesh Kumari Yadav, 36, was shot dead by a colleague in her chamber on the civil court premises in Agra on 13 June, 2019. A two-judge HC bench had said that most incompetent police personnel are being posted at the courts, adding that it will seek the deployment of central forces if the state government is not up to the task.